Is 5 days enough?

[Christen99]

We're planning our first trip to WDW in May, and we're planning on taking a redeye from CA, and arriving fairly early on Sunday morning. Our initial plan is to just chill out on Sunday, see the resorts, take a swim with the kids, hit up DTD, and just take it easy.

We are planning on leaving late Friday (9pm flight), so that we have that final day to play.

That leaves 5 days for seeing the parks, really just one day in each park and the last will be whatever we missed or really want to see again (5 day park hopper). Is this enough time? We're playing around with adding 2 more days, but I'm not sure if the extra two days would justify the cost if we can cover a lot of the parks in those 5 days, especially because I'm guessing those last two days are going to be CROWDED since it will be a Saturday and Sunday.

Obviously we aren't going to see every single thing in all of the parks, because that's not possible, but we'd like to see as much as possible within our time frame.

Since we've never been I want the kids to have lots of great memories and see everything they want to see.

 

[TravelAgentJen]

no

 

[mesaboy2]

We're planning our first trip to WDW in May, and we're planning on taking a redeye from CA, and arriving fairly early on Sunday morning. Our initial plan is to just chill out on Sunday, see the resorts, take a swim with the kids, hit up DTD, and just take it easy.

We are planning on leaving late Friday (9pm flight), so that we have that final day to play.

That leaves 5 days for seeing the parks, really just one day in each park and the last will be whatever we missed or really want to see again (5 day park hopper). Is this enough time? We're playing around with adding 2 more days, but I'm not sure if the extra two days would justify the cost if we can cover a lot of the parks in those 5 days, especially because I'm guessing those last two days are going to be CROWDED since it will be a Saturday and Sunday.

Obviously we aren't going to see every single thing in all of the parks, because that's not possible, but we'd like to see as much as possible within our time frame.

Since we've never been I want the kids to have lots of great memories and see everything they want to see.

I think it's enough for a first trip. You'll likely want to return and you can explore different things (or your favorites again) the next time.

 

[1coolnini]

We are also coming from the west coast for our first trip to WDW. Initially our trip was 8 nights, but after reading these boards I was concerned it wouldn't be enough time to see everything, so I added two more nights. One thing that is going to help us is that we go to Disneyland all the time. Many of the rides are similar, or the same. If the lines are long we will skip those rides. For us I want a relaxing vacation, too and I don't want to spend every hour of everyday in line, I want some pool time. So, if you can extend your trip that would be great, otherwise try and go with the mindset that you will be back someday and you don't need to see it all on this trip.

 

[Princesss]

I've done a 5-day, 6-day, and 7-day trip and I thought all of them were too short. My next trip will be 8 days. However, I absolutely love being fully immersed in Disney culture. If you are already toying with the idea of adding two days- I would say do it. I think it is really worth the added cost. The Magic Kingdom and Epcot always take me at least two days to see. I like to do Animal Kingdom for more than one day. I can do Hollywood Studios in one day.

 

[jazz0007]

I'm with the no's. I think at least 7-8 days is good (10-11 is better!)...... Unless you'll be making multiple trips in a short time frame!!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

Yes 5 days is enough time to see 4 parks. If you have very young kids you may want to do MK twice but otherwise. if you go when it is not super crowded like school breaks or holidays then you can get almost everything done in each park in one day per park.

We go in the off season so it is not crowded when we go and we rarely have to wait more than 10 minutes for any ride so we can easily make our way around each park in one day.

If you have never been there before then Epcot may take you longer because there are 2 section. The front which is Future World and the back half which is World Showcase. You really could devote one day to each section if you are moseying along and taking your time or if it is really crowded. But a lot of kids aren't big fans of the back half of Epcot.

And if you have never been there you can kill a whole day at Hollywood Studios but if you ever return you can easily hit the main attractions and be done by 1pm. We feel the same way about Animal Kindgom. Half a day park.

But we never do JUST Disney. SO our trips are usually 9-11 days. We also do Sea World, Island of Adventure, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, Discovery Cove, etc.

But if you are on a budget and adding those 2 days may push you over budget I wouldn't sweat it. 5 days is a good amount of days for a first trip.

Some ppl might even tell you that you need to add extra days so that you can have some days of "rest" to just hang out at the resort but we don't do that either. For what you pay for a Disney vacation there is no way in h e double hockey sticks that I am going to waste a day doing nothing.

But if your first travel day is a downtown disney day or a pool day and your last day is a travel day and you have 5 actual park days in between then you should be fine.

I have seen some ppl post that they go to each park 2 or 3 times during one vacation. You will have to decide for yourself once you go to the parks if you want to repeat that same park during your vacation. You can go to each park one day then pick which park or parks you would like to revisit on your 5th day. Since you have park hoppers you can hit up 2 different parks on your extra day. Once you have been through the park you will know what rides you like and don't like and you can go in and hit the highlights or see some shows.

You may even find on your HS day or your AK day that you get through early in the day and you can hop to another park that day too.

Good luck with your decision and have a great trip!

 

[cleophus12]

Princess is correct. No matter how long your trip is, it won't be long enough to see and do everything. It will, however, give you a good taste of the world and you will know what you want to do (and not do) next time. For all the times we've been there is always something we walk away having missed.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

If 5 days is what your time and finances will allow, then make the most of your 5 days! As you said, you won't see everything but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the World. I prefer to have at least 6 full days, but I have taken shorter trips and had fun as well.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I would add the 2 extra days.
Can you have a great 5 day vacation? Absolutely. But considering you are flying in from the West Coast - I would extend it the trip to 7 and give you time to see what you want and maybe a little time relaxing.
I fly from the North East and 8-9 days is my minimum!

 

[minnie mum]

Princess is correct. No matter how long your trip is, it won't be long enough to see and do everything. It will, however, give you a good taste of the world and you will know what you want to do (and not do) next time. For all the times we've been there is always something we walk away having missed.

Exactly right. It isn't nearly enough time to see and do even half of everything. But as long as you know this even before you get there, you can set your expectations accordingly. Just enjoy doing what is comfortable for your family to manage without exhausting yourself. We'll be going for 2 weeks this spring, and have no illusions that we'll get in everything that we'd like to do. But we'll still have a great time.

 

[North of Mouse]

We go for 10 nights, and that is just perfect for us to go at a relaxed pace. If you can only have 5 days in the parks for your first trip, you'll just have to plan another You will barely be able to scratch the surface with just a day at each of the parks, plus a follow up day for a couple parks.

That's a long trip for such a short time though. I would try to add some days.

 

[ICF]

If you can afford more, then more is always better....

...that said, 5 days will allow you time to see all 4 parks.

 

[StaceyTX]

I hope so! We are going in May for 7 nights/8 days. But we only bought 6 days of park tickets.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I feel 5 days is enough, if your going a good week in MAY when the crowds are low, you will be able to see alot.

I would get a 6 day hopper ticket even though you plan on relaxing Sunday, the cost is so cheap to add the extra day that you may hit one of the parks that day for a couple of hours or at night to see the night shows. Or you could hit Epcot and have dinner at one of the countries and then see illuminations and just take in the atmosphere of world showcase without going crazy doing rides that first day. (I would go to world showcase over DTD anyday) Or if you don't want to get the 6 day ticket, do a character dinner that first day so you get meeting Mickey or Cinderella out of the way. (we always did Chef Mickeys the first night so the kids didn't want to stand in line to meet him again because they already did so we had more time to do the rides.

Disney is exhausting so we usually get there for rope drop but go relax in the afternoon and hit the parks at night. We love wishes and illuminations so we always try to watch one each night.

If you have a good touring plan based on what attractions are important to you, you should be able to see most of Disney. I feel you can do each park in one day. If you want to see characters go to the character dinner buffets instead of waiting in line to see them, as you can kill 3 birds with one stone. You get to relax, have a nice dinner and meet the characters. The characters come to your table and spend time with just your family.

 

[conniehar90]

If you can swing 2 more days, I would. We usually go for 9 days and it is just about enough even though we could probably stay longer. Since you are coming such a long way from CA, I would add the extra time. Trust me, you won't be bored! Seeing WDW is tiring and 5 straight days of parks is tough. With a couple extra days, you can spend some down time at the pool, Downtown Disney, etc and get to see mostly everything.

 

[special ed teacher]

I believe 5 is enough.

 

[elaine amj]

Depends on your family. We care abt value. Adding on nights is cheap during free dining - just under $150 a night (ticket upgrade and hotel for family of 4) so we just keep adding days lol.

We did a 10 day trip and our last trip was 12 days. We were never bored. I must admit, all the dining meant we spent a solid quarter of our trip trAvelling to food or eating food. Well worth it. To us, we really enjoyed checking out all the different resorts.

Our friends went for a week and would have been happy with 4-5 days. They Are not Disney freaks...but go for their kids.

 

[Mousemommy1]

You can see alot in 5 days, but you could see even more in 7!
I would add the 2 days if you can swing it, especially coming from so far. But then again, we only come from NH and we typically stay 10 nights.

Every family is different though. My co-worker just came back yesterday from a 4 day WDW trip
But for them, it was the perfect amount of time.

 

[cleophus12]

Are you going early or late in the month? We are going the last week, which I know will be hard because of schools getting out and Memorial Day, but it's the best we could do. Whenever you are going, it is very important to have a plan. You don't have to plan every minute, but study some maps, know where things are, and use the FastPass whenever possible to make the most of your time.